


Wood

by givemesomewings



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, I use the word humor loosely, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27296911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/givemesomewings/pseuds/givemesomewings
Summary: If there was one thing Frank Castle would always be, it was a man of his word. So Matt would take him at that.
Relationships: Frank Castle/Matt Murdock
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43
Collections: Fratt Week





	Wood

**Author's Note:**

> BLACK LIVES MATTER. Hopefully these words don’t feel out of place or uncomfortable to see for anyone. But as a black person and just as a human being, I really need this to be said as loudly and as often as possible. In any and all spaces that I inhabit.
> 
> This site and all of these amazing fics have always been a refuge for me. Consuming art is a great escape for when reality is too troubling, but I don’t want to escape anymore. I couldn’t even if I did. MY LIFE MATTERS.
> 
> The fight for my rights and the fact that many people would rather see me dead more than anything else has been at the forefront of every aspect of my existence. It’s tough and it’s difficult, but that’s my reality.
> 
> I know most people are here just to read and enjoy Fratt Week, as am I. But I just wanted to set a precedent for any and all interactions I may have with anyone on this site or elsewhere, that again, BLACK LIVES MATTER. That cannot be said enough, as just acknowledging this fact is the least we can do in this fight. If you don’t agree with this or feel like this isn’t the “place” for this conversation to be had, please do not interact with me or my work from this point on.
> 
> And yes, this preface will be at the beginnings of all my fics until the end of time. Now onto the story!
> 
> ***
> 
> Matt has an internal meltdown as he tries to figure out how to ask Frank a potentially awkwardly question that seems to plague every romantic relationship: “What are we?” Which is also this fic’s alternate title.
> 
> ***
> 
> This fic was written for the Frattweek prompt, “Wood” and is very loosely inspired by the song “Everything is Embarrassing” by Skye Ferreira.
> 
> I feel like this fic is kind of a cop out when it come to the actual prompt, but I’m pretty sure it still qualifies haha. Enjoy!

“Thanks for helping me out with this, Frank,” Matt said. He stood, leaning against the frame of his bedroom door and facing his living room. He spoke to Frank’s back as he yanked up another wooden floorboard. “This would’ve cost me a fortune if I had to call somebody.”

“No problem, Red,” Frank said, voice slightly strained as he worked.

A plank in his floor had come loose and Frank had seen it the last time he slept over. He probably wouldn’t have even noticed it had he not watched Matt trip over it that same night.

It had only happened once. And any other time, he would have easily sensed the bump in the floor and stepped over it; his hearing had just been slightly off at that particular moment. He’d had an especially rough patrol and was a little out of it when he made it back home.

He’d taken on a considerably large group of Mariah Dillard’s goons. They were purchasing a shipment of weapons from over seas by way of a new player on the black market and Matt had intercepted the transfer. They obviously didn’t take his involvement very well.

He had been doing fine, knocking down the congresswoman’s grunts with relative ease. Then one of the bastards had picked up a crowbar and used his head as a baseball. He should’ve seen it coming, but his mind had been... elsewhere, lately.

“Watch yourself, Murdock,” Frank said. He stretched from his spot on the floor over to Matt’s feet, where he’d discarded his tee shirt earlier. Frank swiped the shirt across his forehead before dropping it next to him. He’d stripped it off once he’d started sweating a bit, revealing only a thin tank top underneath. Matt had thought he was shirtless until Frank brushed by him to get to the bathroom once and he felt the material. Still, he wasn’t complaining.

He could just picture Frank now. His abs were probably visible behind the thin fabric. His arms must be bulging as he worked, the thick biceps flexing with each movement he made. Strong hands with calloused fingers gripping each piece of wood with-

“Problem, Red?” Frank asked. Matt must’ve been ‘staring’, for all intents and purposes. He wasn’t sure if he had been facing in Frank’s direction or just out into empty space. Either one was probably equally weird.

Matt stammered a bit as he spoke. “No, sorry. I was just... Uh. Nothing.”

Smooth. Really smooth, Murdock. He couldn’t blame anyone but himself for his lack of focus lately. He needed to get it together or next time he went out as Daredevil he’d get himself killed. That last time had been bad enough.

He’d survived worse than a bump on the head. A lot worse, actually, but that crowbar still really hurt. He recovered pretty quickly and took the guy out, but his ears had rung for the rest of the night.

He’d made his way back to his apartment only to find Frank in his shower, which was a surprise, though not a very big one. They’d made a habit of staying at whoever’s apartment was the closest when they finished patrols for the night and didn’t feel like going all the way back to their own homes. Apparently that night it was Matt’s turn to host. And that was fine with him, considering Frank’s place could hardly be classified as an apartment at all.

He had a bed and a bathroom. That was it; Matt refused to refer to the mini fridge and hotplate sequestered off in one corner of the room as a kitchen. If Karen thought that Matt’s home was pitifully empty, he’d hate to hear what she had to say about Frank’s. And though the place was far from luxurious, or even comfortable really, Matt found he didn’t mind being there all that much. There were other benefits to staying in that shithole. As a matter of fact, he and Frank usually ended up benefiting several times whenever he stayed over.

The problem was though, that he was rarely ever so tired that he didn’t want to be in his own bed; and Frank was the same way. Which is why most nights, Frank just went back to his own sorry apartment and Matt ended up having to patrol further and further into the Bronx instead of Hell’s Kitchen just so that he could see the man before he went to work the next morning. And Matt knew he could just go home alone but, if he was honest, he’d gotten pretty used to sleeping in Frank’s old cot. Maybe even enjoyed it a little.

Now Matt knew that they spent their nights together out of convenience, nothing else. Or he knew, rather, that that’s what they told themselves; despite the fact that whenever they got together, the things they did were out of anything but.

Matt had long ago admitted to himself that Frank’s lumpy mattress was pretty much always preferable to his empty one, though he wasn’t sure Frank had come to the same conclusion. Matt had even realized that after their nights together had become routine, that he looked forward to the end of his patrols almost as much as he did going on them in the first place. Almost.

Knowing he’d had a successful night of making the Kitchen a safer place, of making a real difference in the lives of people who so deserved it, was a real highlight for him. And getting to cap off the whole experience by going home with a guy who was as insightful as he was a honest, whenever Frank felt like talking, was pretty great, too. Which was becoming more and more often when the two of them were alone. Frank had turned out to be surprisingly considerate and, even more surprisingly, kinda funny.

He was also really comfortable. He could be used as a very warm blanket or Matt’s own personal teddy bear, depending on the mood he was in. The guy was just really good company. Matt had come to enjoy just being with the man almost as much as he did the sex. Almost.

“So,” Matt started, forcibly derailing his train of thought, “if you won’t let me pay you, you could at least let me feed you. Anything you in the mood for?”

“I’m all good,” Frank grunted softly as he answered. “Not really hungry.” He ripped up another plank.

“You sure? You liked that Chinese place from a couple nights ago.”

“I’m sure.”

“Look, Frank. You’re going to have to let me pay you back somehow,” Matt straightened up from his spot against the door frame and crossed his arms. He could think of a couple ways to pay Frank back.

“You never heard of a favor, Red?” Frank asked. It was true, Frank had offered to do this for him. Matt’s landlord was pretty shitty and it would have taken him a month or two to finally get around to fixing the floor, but Matt didn’t mind. Still, Frank had insisted, claiming he could get the job done quickly and more efficiently than his asshole super ever could.

While Matt appreciated the favor, he figured there was a bit more to it. His safety was undoubtedly becoming more and more of concern for Frank. And not just when they were on the street and Matt needed someone to watch his back. He meant his general well-being.

This wasn’t the first time Frank had gone out of his way for Matt, not by a longshot. That had to mean that his feelings for Matt were a bit deeper than just that of a partner in crime.

He didn’t take the sex as a huge indicator that Frank cared about him in any significant way. Matt had slept with more than his fair share of women without harboring any meaningful attractions toward them. But what he and Frank had with each other, that felt deeper than just sex. At least to Matt.

Not that it mattered all that much either way, he reassured himself. He definitely cared for Frank, but he wasn’t head over heels or anything. He was moreso just curious as to where Frank’s head was at.

“Just let me work, alright?” Frank finished.

“No problem, Frank,” Matt smiled. Despite how fried his brain was at the moment, he couldn’t help the joy he felt whenever he successfully pushed one of Frank’s buttons. The familiar smugness helped him feel a bit more comfortable, if only for a second.

Matt raised one hand in a mock-apologetic gesture before finishing his statement. “Didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Yeah, I can tell by that smirk you really mean that,” Frank grunted. “Look, I don’t mind taking care of this. It’s nothing. Really.”

Frank repositioned himself on the floor and sighed once he’d done so. Matt ignored the feeling the sound gave him. “This kind of thing is right up my alley.”

“Right,” Matt nodded. “Construction. Sometimes I forget you have a day job.”

Frank huffed out a noise that barely passed for a laugh. “I guess you do this kind of stuff all the time,” Matt said.

After a bit of what felt like an awkward silence to Matt, he spoke up again. “You enjoy it?”

Frank sighed. Matt could tell that he had eased himself into a new sitting position, reached for his shirt again and began toweling off his hands before answering. “Nah, not especially. It’s a nice gig for the time being, though.”

He started rifling through the toolbox he’d brought with him. “It’s easy. Peaceful.”

“Hmm,” Matt said. He shuffled from foot to foot for a second before returning to his spot in the bedroom door. “I can see that. Probably gives you a lot of time to think.”

Working with his hands was second nature for Frank. Matt bet he could refloor this entire apartment with his eyes closed. His body was probably on autopilot right now, allowing his mind plenty of free time to plan his next mission, or maybe even just what he’d have for dinner that night. He could be thinking about lots of things. Or people.

“The opposite, actually,” Frank said. “Usually not thinking about much of anything when I’m doin’ demolition.” Frank started hammering a new plank into place.

“And when I’m installing, especially something important,” he exhaled as he finished with that plank and grabbed a new one. “I have to be pretty focused so I don’t fuck up.”

“Oh. Right.” Of course. Frank probably didn’t want to waste his time thinking about things that weren’t significant to him. And more importantly, he couldn’t. That was a stupid thing to assume. Matt wanted to kick himself.

More awkward silence. Matt didn’t want to risk distracting Frank from his work by saying something dumber than he already had, so he didn’t really have any other choice but to keep standing here.

He would have loved to hide out in his bedroom with his tail between his legs until Frank was finished, but he just couldn’t. That age-old Murdock pride wouldn’t allow him to; neither would whatever feelings this ‘crush’ of his had awakened in him.

He wouldn’t be able to rest until he got what he needed from Frank. He had to know where the two of them stood. As a... ‘Couple’ wasn’t the right word. Or maybe it was, but he sure wasn’t gonna be the one to use it. Not first, anyway.

Ugh. He felt like a damn teenager. Why did the thought of asking Frank how he felt about him give Matt butterflies? How did he even get to a point in his life where he cared what Frank thought of him?

The fucking Punisher was giving him butterflies. And he hated it. But he also kinda liked it?

Hell must be literally freezing over right now.

“Got something you want to say, Murdock?”

Matt felt himself jump, only slightly but still. He really needed to get out of his own head.

“Scared ya?” Frank asked. Matt could hear the slight confusion in his voice.

“What? Oh, no. You didn’t scare me,” Matt stammered. “What did you wanna ask me?”

“I was wondering what _you_ were trying to ask _me_ , Red,” Frank said. He slowly got up from his spot on the floor, toweling off his hands again as he did so. Matt could picture the skeptical look Frank was giving him right now. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just going to ask... If you were almost finished with the, uh, floor.”

More silence. Frank just stood there, more than likely giving him a critical once over.

“So... are you? Finished with the floor?” Matt asked, as stupidly as possible.

“You’re a terrible liar, Red.” Frank dropped the dirty shirt he’d been using as a rag and took a few steps toward Matt, closing the small distance between them. “You’re acting... weird. Kinda stupid.”

Matt blew out a breath in a self deprecating laugh. “Yeah, I guess I am,” he sighed. “Look, Frank, I-“

Frank placed his hands on Matt’s waist as he stood in front of him. “What, Red?” he asked softly. Matt involuntary shuddered at the touch, sucking in a breath as he reveled in the feeling of Frank’s warm breath against his face.

Frank misread his reaction and withdrew his hands. “Sorry, sorry,” he said quickly, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Going to wash ‘em now. Forgot how particular your nose is about that kinda stuff.”

He turned away from Matt and started towards the bathroom. “It’s just a little sweat and floor polish. I thought I got most of it but I guess it’s sticking to me.“

Matt reached out and grabbed Frank’s arm, stopping him. “No, Frank it’s not that.”

Frank didn’t say anything, but Matt could just tell that he’d arched one eyebrow. “Okay, it’s not just that. Frank, I-“

Frank freed his arm from Matt’s grip and turned around, looking at him face to face. He crossed his arms as he listened. “I just wanted to thank you for today. You didn’t have to help me out but you did anyway. So, thanks.”

Frank huffed through his nose. “I told you, Red, no need to thank me. And I meant it.”

“I know, but-“

“Didn’t you hear me say I meant it?” he asked softly. “As many times as you pulled my ass out of the fire, you never have to thank me for anything, alright?”

Matt could hear the smile in Frank’s voice and it made him want to do the same. “Thank- Uh. Got it, Frank.”

“Good. You know, Red, I’m good for more than just flooring.”

A puzzled expression spread across Matt’s face.

“I just mean that,” Frank sighed. “You know if you need something, anything, all you have to do is call.”

He uncrossed his arms and used a free hand to reach toward Matt before deciding against it and letting it drop to his side.

“I’m not the best at a lot of things, talking being at the top of that list, but I’ll do my best to be there for you. Whatever you need from me. If I got it, it’s yours,” he said. “So don’t go getttin’ your panties all in a bunch over a couple planks of wood.”

Matt just stood there, jaw slack as he digested Frank’s words. He never got to ask his question but he figured he didn’t need to anymore.

He knew better than to expect a traditional boyfriend out of Frank. As a matter of fact, Matt was positive that’s not what he wanted from him, despite his conflicting feelings from earlier.

He liked Frank. He liked his personality, his sense of humor, his strength, his body. He liked a lot of things about the man. Matt had come to terms with his feelings and was fine to leave his self examination at that.

What he really wanted to know was how Frank felt. And Frank had finally told him. Matt didn’t need a title or declaration of love from the vigilante, he just needed to know that he wasn’t in this alone. That Frank cared. Matt needed him to say the words. And he had. That was more than enough for now.

If there was one thing Frank Castle would always be, it was a man of his word. So Matt would take him at that.

“Shut your trap, Red. You’ll catch flies.”

Frank’s finger under his chin was a welcome interruption to his thoughts. Secure with his place in Frank’s world, Matt finally began to feel like himself for the first time today. He wasn’t totally comfortable with the way a couple of words from Frank could dictate his entire mood, but he was sure that would pass.

For now, he just wanted to get his mind off of everything. He needed to destress. And he knew the perfect way to do it.

He snatched Frank’s hand in his own. Matt held it tight as he walked past the other man and dragged the both of them toward the bathroom.

“Come on, Frank. You still haven’t washed these hands. And I can think of a few of your other body parts that could use some attention.”

Frank chuckled as he was pulled into the washroom. “You are one hell of a horndog, Murdock.”

“And you love it, Castle,” Matt said, his tone of voice dropping seductively.

Frank pushed the bathroom door closed behind them as Matt turned on the shower, then started unbuckling Frank’s belt.

“That I do, Red,” he drawled. “That I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> as always, i hope i did these amazing characters justice. let me know if you enjoyed it!
> 
> hmu on tumblr/twitter! @maniskordaze


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